The institutionalisation of Parkour in Denmark. A national case of how institutional isomorphism works and affect lifestyle sport

ABSTRACT

Many lifestyle sports are undergoing a process of institutionalisation and sportisation. A growing body of research in the institutionalisation of lifestyle sport is developing. This is especially the case for parkour where researchers have begun analysing how parkour has been developed in different national contexts. By drawing on institutional theory and various empirical data collected through ethnographical field studies, this article offers a qualitative analysis about how the national, socio-cultural context and the sport governance system have coloured the institutionalisation of parkour in Denmark. The institutionalisation has been driven by the practitioners’ interest in getting access to sport facilities and therefore a need to accommodate the sport governance system. But also, at the same time, by the existing associations who are facing challenges to attract young people and therefore integrating parkour into their schedules. Even though the institutionalisation creates tensions, it also illuminates how parkour has been integrated into the existing gymnastic organisations without being turned into an achievement sport, but as a sport-for-all.

KEYWORDS:

• Lifestyle sports
• action sports
• parkour
• institutionalisation
• sportisation
• sport-for-all

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Professor Bjarne Ibsen for constructive and helpful comments and questions that helped develop this article. I further want to thank all the practitioners that participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Press release from FIG: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1104002974775&ca=3514ded5-82cd-4788-8249-b3807e822f52 [Accessed 3 August 2017].

2. In February 2020 the hashtag has 11.4 K posts associated with it.

3. Research in the management and support of informal sport in Australia has also highlighted how non-sports-related community organisations potentially offer a more pliable structure for at a local level, because they are not tied to particular notions of how sport should be played and are without the formality associated with sports organisations (Jeanes et al. 2019, p. 92).

4. In its early forms’ competitions were a part of gymnastics in Denmark, but the competitions were abolished in the 1920s when gymnastics gained independence (had prior been practised in and linked to shooting associations) as an activity.

5. These documents have been gathered from 2011 to 2020.

6. After 2011 Facebook become the primary place for communication about parkour.

7. Very few women practised parkour in Denmark in 2011 when the study began, and it was therefore only possible to use male informants. This gender imbalance is a representative limitation but not crucial for the present analysis.

8. Gerlev Sports Academy is a People´s Academy, which is a unique Danish model of education. People´s Academies are often used as a break between secondary and formal higher education and the students are usually between 18–25 years. There are no examinations, no certificates to classify the students or any defined curriculum task.

9. Video about the process of creating the world first public, open parkour park in Copenhagen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-g0eQed4tg [Accessed 20 January 2021].

10. The team consist of gymnast selected by audition. They travel the world doing workshops and performances in TeamGym and Display Gymnastics.

11. https://www.dgi.dk/gymnastik/parkour/specielt-for-dig-som-instruktoer/instruktoerkurser-og-uddannelser [Accessed 20 March 2020].

12. Christian ceremony, normally between ages 13–15.

13. Webpage: http://www.korsør-gf.dk/Parkour [Accessed 1 August 2013].

14. Data from idrottsstatistik.se, retrieved 19.02.2020 from: https://idrottsstatistik.se/foreningsidrott/idrottsutveckling-over-tid/?utm_campaign=unspecified&utm_content=unspecified&utm_medium=email&utm_source=apsis-anp-3&fbclid=IwAR0mzwli0QbChjXCKiSMNLMgK1X_HwV-d1hXj1orP0J5sBz2cuqbRHoCkZM

15. See the Swedish webpage about the competition: https://www.pktr.se/parkour/tavling/